Winky vs. Taylor

Both fighters have advantages in select attributes (for more, go to the March 27th BIAS on The Sweet Science for more info)… but who is going to persevere and why? When you think about it… in 48 minutes you’ll have your winner and maybe for another reason than what you think… I like that about boxing, rarely is the outcome what you think it will be.

Question: Why was Emanuel Steward pretending to get staggered when Jermain was hitting his focus mitts during the taped training sessions?

Does this fight make me feel more enthused about Jermain’s ability if he wins? Most likely not… it depends on how impressive he wins… Should Winky win, it seems like he would be climbing the higher mountain… so why can’t the same be said for Taylor should he win?

I think to myself, good marketing by the Taylor people because they are putting their man in against a respected champion who they believe can’t hurt their guy… (boxing management 101) They see that as a GLARING advantage for Taylor, whether it turns out that way, we’ll see.

I personally don’t think Emanuel in Jermain’s corner is going to help him… at least not initially… maybe down the road in another fight. It is impossible that Emanuel could come in for two months and “clean up a habit” that has been with Jermain from the start of his boxing life. What happened to Jermain’s lifelong trainer though… was he kicked to the proverbial curb?

ROUND 1Taylor trying to counter Winky’s jab with the left hook and not the right hand like the conventional trainer always says. Winky with good jabs…TAYLOR ROUND, behind some good work to the body, but then again Winky brought the fight to Taylor and got off well… A tossup.

ROUND 2Winky doing exactly what he has to do in order to win this fight… Take it to Jermain. Winky with a real good left with Taylor in the corner. WINKY’S ROUND and much clearer than Taylor’s first round.

Winky is a man taking advantage of Taylor’s bad habit… dropping his right when he throws a left. Hopkins couldn’t do it but Winky’s right jab is.

ROUND 3Both fighters doing what they do best… Taylor with some effective combinations to the body… AROUND the arms of Winky. TAYLOR’S ROUND

ROUND 4Taylor’s first few punches out the box looked ponderous, but they picked up as Taylor ended up getting some good steam behind his shots. Winky would be wise to move his head as well as block the shots… those ones dropping in-between are no good for the visage. TAYLOR’S ROUND

ROUND 5Winky was composed and began to score whenever Jermain touched the ropes. I must remember that power distorts… just because Taylor hits with more authority, Winky ALSO hit Jermain effectively, just not as hard. WINKY’S ROUND

ROUND 6Both fighters got off well, I’ll take the “waffler’s” way out… (Waffle; see Merriam Webster’s dictionary) EVEN ROUND

ROUND 7Taylor came out hard and finished strong. TAYLOR ROUND

Comes to my mind that the advantage to fighting someone who can’t punch is the fact that you can see “underwater”… i.e. when your opponent is punching at you, you aren’t getting so hard you can’t stand within the fire and punch back, you actually “keep your eyes open under water.”

ROUND 8Winky wins the round on good workmanship… put his foot in the pocket and worked like the blue-collar does. WINKY ROUND

ROUND 9Jermain gone back to his old ways and it seems Emmanuel’s efforts have been negated… not enough time to change or effect what the issue is. If they stop this fight on the eye swelling, I’ll be upset... for lack of a suggestive word. WINKY’S ROUND

I watch Winky’s right leg and how it locks when he steps… I wonder how this has affected his fight style…

ROUND 10Wow, they both exchanged punches there and it was a very difficult round to call because Winky worked in combo but Taylor’s single shots moved Winky’s body. WINKY’S ROUND

I think I understand now… Winky was so effective when Taylor was against the ropes because Taylor is a stationary opponent and Winky doesn’t need to use his legs to get him. Especially that lead leg that locks up on him when he plants.

ROUND 11WHAT? I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS! Winky doing what he did against Vargas… gave the fight away in the last 2 rounds by complaining and stepping back, he has to step to Taylor and take it to him…TAYLOR ROUND… maybe. But then again maybe I was more shocked that Winky actually switched boats midstream like that. I dunno, but it can’t be good for Winky, so why do it?

ROUND 12Why is he fighting like this, it makes no sense… Winky on his toes making the biggest mistake of his life… again… I can’t believe it…TAYLOR ROUND?

FINAL ANALYSIS

Again, I m too stunned and distracted by the sudden shift in the flow of the fight. Winky took the 8th, 9th and 10th in my humble estimation, employing a get at ‘im style… why stop now? “The prevent defense” should be banned, fined and outlawed… it isn’t even good for the fans… Maybe the judges “penalized” Winky… actually took points away for what you may call, “The Florida Fade.”

The decision? I guess I wasn’t the only one who ate waffles tonight (waffle, as in, unable to make a decision). A predictable draw… (They really should outlaw draws as well and force the pros to make a decision.) But let me ask you a question: What if you and your partner went into a dance competition and you made it to the finals and during the final dance off you decided to switch from the flamenco to a soft shoe, or something… Well people, that’s what I thought Winky did in the last two rounds. A fight that was his to win he effectively “lost” because he worried about what Taylor wasn’t doing and not what he himself should be doing. Even if “they” are trying to make Taylor the “poster boy” for boxing, Winky didn’t help himself… didn’t finish as effectively as he could have… close the show. He left the people an open door and they came in and possibly “robbed” him. Yeah, yeah, I know, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice (you know the rest)… But I think Winky has to take responsibility for this one. He knows the ways of the world.

A rematch is most likely going to happen before the year is over, they will talk about it being a pay-per-view event… I think it could work given the investment both fighters made in this fight. But this will be the best of their fights of this I am sure.

ON MARCH 27th I WROTE A Boxer In-depth Analysis System (BIAS) of this WINKY VS. TAYLOR fight for The Sweet Science… check it out and see what did and didn’t come to fruition.

This fight was an excellent fight… very entertaining… I give it an 8 out of 10. By the way, I like HBO getting more of the corner conversations between rounds… There’s got to be a way they can enhance that though for the fans…